The morning started early with a 30 minute taxi ride to the North Railway station. A humungous structure in the Northern suburbs that is the hub for trains traveling to the North – we braved the dodgem track which is the Beijing traffic, only to discover our train was delayed.
We waited in a hall the size of Eden Park with what seemed like the whole of China’s population, (must have been at least 1,000 people) for over an hour: but when the announcement was made and the gates opened the dance began as people of all shapes, sizes, smells and sensitivities; carrying bags and containers of all sizes and fragilities, waltzed to the train. We were being spoilt today – the team had booked a sleeper for each of us. So with the other 120 people we squeezed into cabins with two sets of triple-decker sleeping berths, and thanked God that I was not one of the ‘who knows how many’ that squeezed into the ‘no number limit standing only’ carriages.
So I am now sitting on my berth watching China go by. Other than the extremely loud Chinese ‘elevator’ music being piped through the carriage it is very pleasant, although stuffy and I am starting to absorb some strange smells. The landscape is comprised of huge mountain ranges, numerous long dark tunnels, and every now and then a little village or and industrial complex of some sort. The trip will be about 4 hours – give or take.
After our arrival in Zhangjiakou we will do some shopping for the project before heading in the project car for another 1.5 hours to Xinghe which will be home for a few days.
We waited in a hall the size of Eden Park with what seemed like the whole of China’s population, (must have been at least 1,000 people) for over an hour: but when the announcement was made and the gates opened the dance began as people of all shapes, sizes, smells and sensitivities; carrying bags and containers of all sizes and fragilities, waltzed to the train. We were being spoilt today – the team had booked a sleeper for each of us. So with the other 120 people we squeezed into cabins with two sets of triple-decker sleeping berths, and thanked God that I was not one of the ‘who knows how many’ that squeezed into the ‘no number limit standing only’ carriages.
So I am now sitting on my berth watching China go by. Other than the extremely loud Chinese ‘elevator’ music being piped through the carriage it is very pleasant, although stuffy and I am starting to absorb some strange smells. The landscape is comprised of huge mountain ranges, numerous long dark tunnels, and every now and then a little village or and industrial complex of some sort. The trip will be about 4 hours – give or take.After our arrival in Zhangjiakou we will do some shopping for the project before heading in the project car for another 1.5 hours to Xinghe which will be home for a few days.
